The present invention relates to the fields of document evaluation, identity verification and transaction authorization. The invention aims particularly to facilitate the evaluation of identification documents as employed in the context of retail or wholesale sales or other types of transactions or security and access functions in commercial, industrial, financial, governmental, medical, legal or other service or product fields. The invention is directed toward relieving an evaluating party of the subjective aspects of the evaluation process and creating a record of compliance with a prescribed document validation and identity verification protocol.
There are many scenarios in which one individual is required to present a credential, identification document or another instrument of any of the types collectively referred to or commonly known as ID, to another individual for evaluation. The evaluating party (evaluator) uses the credential for the purpose of establishing whether the presenting party (the presenter or the subject, ostensibly the individual identified by the credential) is eligible for a requested transaction. Commonly, the age of the presenter as indicated by the credential determines eligibility. In all of the scenarios the evaluator must determine the validity of the credential itself and verify that the presenter is the individual identified by the credential.
In one type of scenario store clerks are required to demand and evaluate state-issued or other official photo credential from prospective purchasers of tobacco or alcohol. In such scenarios clerks are responsible for enforcing the prohibition of sales of a controlled product to parties of less than a minimum age. Clerks must manually inspect presented photo credentials for obvious alterations or other incriminating flaws attempting to determine whether or not the credential is valid while subjectively comparing the small photographic image on the credential with the presenter attempting to verify that the presenter is the person in the image and mentally computing the age of the presenter from the date of birth printed on the credential. In instances where the presenter provides a false or altered credential which is accepted as valid and verified by the clerk, prohibited transactions can result.
In some cases clerks may employ aids including specially designed calendars, lamps, magnetic stripe readers, barcode readers or other devices to assist in evaluating official credentials. Alternatively, the clerk may use these types of aids to assist in evaluating proprietary credentials. In these instances the systems employed are usually capable of supporting only one type of credential.
Such prior art aids do not relieve the clerk or other evaluating party of the responsibility of subjectively assessing raw biometric information, such as the presenter""s face or signature, and comparing the raw biometric data to reference data in the form of a photographic image or an image of a signature, as incorporated in the credential. There has not been provided a means for reviewing whether or not the evaluator made an accurate evaluation or even if an evaluation has been performed at all.
Houvener, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,389, discloses an identity verification system which stores photographic images in a database and retrieves said photographic images upon request. However, Houvener only provides for the rendition of these images by the identity verification system, relying upon a human operator to perform a comparison of the stored photographic image to the physical appearance of an individual before the operator.
Prior art such as Houvener""s provides a secure and reliable reference for evaluators to use in the context of credit card transactions or other transactions utilizing proprietary credentials tailored to a particular type of transaction. However, such systems are not well suited for the problem of evaluating credentials for the vast number of transactions conditioned on the presentation and evaluation of a relatively unrestricted variety of drivers licenses or other non-proprietary credential types.
A drawback of previous systems is that these systems must establish a communications link between a terminal and a remote database server each time reference data is needed, delaying the transaction in progress. Moreover, such systems cannot operate independently of the remote server and provide no alternate means of performing an evaluation.
Significantly, prior art systems provide no comprehensive record of the evaluation process or particular evaluation events and their connections to specific purchases of specific products. Ideally, systems directed to the enforcement of sales prohibitions would irrefutably associate a credential with its presenter and with the item(s) purchased. The problem of enforcing age restrictions on the sale of controlled products is therefore not addressed by the prior art systems.
Additionally, by providing a record of transactions, many purposes such as market research, marketing and consumer relations among others, can be addressed by the disclosed system which cannot be addressed by prior art systems.
Prior art systems are relatively inflexible and unable to readily accommodate advances in biometric identification technology as they arise.
In accordance with the stated field and background it is an object of the present invention to provide a system and method which programmatically validates a credential, or identification document, and verifies the credential by verifying that the individual presenting the credential is the individual identified by the credential. The object is to automatically evaluate the credential as it is presented at a point of evaluation in a wide range of contexts in order to detect fraudulent credentials and thereby preventing attempted fraud on the part of the credential presenter.
A subordinate object of the present invention is to provide a system and method of automatically comparing official data, defining the characteristics of various types of credentials, with data extracted from an image of a credential or with data encoded on or embedded within a credential under evaluation, to establish a reliable measure of whether the data match and therefore whether the credential is recognized and its type identified, thereby validating the credential.
Another subordinate object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically comparing an official archived photographic image or other biometric identifier of the individual identified by a credential with an image or other biometric measure of the credential presenter captured at the time and place of evaluation. The object is to establish a reliable measure of whether the identifiers match and therefore whether the credential presenter is recognized and verified as the individual identified by the credential thereby verifying the credential.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically determining the age of a presenter of a credential.
A defining object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for establishing and facilitating an explicit protocol for evaluating a credential. The inventors propose a system which effects any protocol consisting of procedures for validation and verification employing combinations of automatic (performed by the system) and manual (performed by the operator) functions consistent with and programmed according to a given credential evaluation scenario, the type(s) of credential(s) anticipated in the scenario and the specific features of the system configuration, its processing capabilities, the biometric technology employed and the extents of available reference databases.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically monitoring and thereby encouraging and enforcing compliance with an explicit protocol for evaluating a credential.
A further related object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically documenting a credential evaluation event by recording the data collected, the results of the evaluation and the information identifying the credential presenter according to an explicit protocol for evaluating a credential.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically documenting a transaction associated with a credential evaluation event by recording information about the transaction according to an explicit protocol for authorizing a transaction.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for automatically detecting discrepancies between text printed on a credential and data encoded on or embedded within the credential, or between text printed on a credential text and official reference data thereby detecting fraudulent credentials.
An ultimate object of the present invention is to reduce and eventually eliminate the subjective aspects of the credential evaluation process.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for recognizing individuals whose credentials have been previously validated and verified thereby eliminating the need for the individuals to present their credentials and automatically approving them for an associated transaction.
A general object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for evaluating credentials which utilizes local databases stored at the point of evaluation. The object is to eliminate the necessity for establishing a communications link with an external remote database for each evaluation event or transaction.
Another general object of the present invention is to provide a system and method which is capable of capitalizing on continuing advances in computer hardware and software technology and serving as a platform for the employment of a multitude of biometric identification mechanisms in a variety of credential evaluation scenarios.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method which deters potential violators of age-access laws.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system and method for monitoring sales transactions involving controlled products. The inventors envision specifying a protocol which includes the capture of information identifying products sold and the storage of the captured information in transaction event records which associate credentials with their presenters and with products purchased.
An associated object of the present invention is to provide a means by which data from a multitude of evaluation points can be gathered, processed and analyzed to provide a comprehensive record of the movement of controlled products within a monitored domain.
These and still other objects of the present invention are disclosed in the following description.
The present invention is a system and method for automatically evaluating credentials, documenting the evaluation process and recording the intermediate and ultimate results of the process with details of an associated transaction. In the course of an evaluation event the system validates the credential presented, verifies that the presenter is the individual identified by the credential and indicates whether the presenter is eligible for the associated transaction. The system performs the evaluation function in a flexible way employing the hardware in an appropriate and optimal fashion as specified by a programmed evaluation protocol.
The system comprises one or more evaluation stations either operating independently or in conjunction with an administrative station. Evaluation stations operating in conjunction and communicating with the associated administrative station form a Credential Evaluation Network. The system optionally comprises a multitude of Credential Evaluation Networks communicating with each other via connections between and among the administrative stations forming an Expanded Credential Evaluation Network.
An evaluation station, located and employed at a point of evaluation, comprises a computer or other processing device with associated hardware and software components for capturing, processing and storing optically scanned images of credentials presented for evaluation and optical images of the credential presenters. The evaluation station also comprises components for capturing, processing and storing additional data encoded in, on or attached to a credential. The evaluation station also comprises additional or alternate biometric measurement devices according to the evaluation scenario. Additionally, the evaluation station comprises autonomous secure databases with software for comparing captured data to data from reference databases and for storing records of evaluations and transactions in event databases. The evaluation station also comprises a device or devices for detecting and reporting the products associated with a transaction to provide product information for inclusion in transaction event records. The evaluation station comprises components for securely communicating with an administrative station. Finally, the evaluation station comprises a means by which operators can manually add or edit data or signal the system in the course of the evaluation process.
An administrative station, located and employed at a central administrative location, comprises a computer or computers or other processing device(s) with associated hardware and software components for compiling and maintaining reference databases. The administrative station incorporates components for securely communicating with its network of evaluation stations and optionally with other administrative stations or external data sources. The administrative station utilizes the communication components for transmitting reference data, administrative commands and administrative request responses to evaluation stations as well as for receiving evaluation and transaction data, administrative requests and command responses from evaluation stations. The administrative station also comprises components for analyzing evaluation and transaction event data for generating reports of system usage.
The system automatically validates a credential by collecting and analyzing data according to a programmed protocol for comparing an optical image of the credential with data from a local reference database. The system employs image processing software algorithms to detect characteristic features of the credential and compare the detected features with database records describing the features of numerous registered types of credentials. If the system finds a match between the detected features and the features of a registered credential type the credential is accepted as valid.
The system automatically verifies a validated credential by capturing and processing an optical image of the presenter or capturing and processing other types of biometric data according to a programmed protocol for comparing captured biometric data with corresponding official identifying biometric data from a local reference database. The system employs biometric software algorithms to detect characteristic biometric features of the credential presenter and compare the detected features with a database record of the characteristic biometric features of the individual identified by the credential. If the system finds a match between the detected features and the features of the subject of the credential, the credential is accepted as verified.
The system guides the operator through a series of manual evaluation steps according to a programmable manual evaluation protocol in the event that the system cannot automatically validate or verify the credential or in the event that the operator selects to perform the manual evaluation when given the option to do so.
The system creates and stores an evaluation event record at the conclusion of an evaluation.
If a credential is verified by the system and the presenter is determined to be eligible for the associated transaction then the system prompts the operator to complete the transaction and enter any additional information to be included in a transaction event record.